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Gulper Eel
Eurypharynx pelecanoides Vaillant, 1882
A 30 cm long Gulper Eel trawled during the NORFANZ expedition at a depth between the surface and 874m, Tasman Sea, south-east of Lord Howe Island, May 2003 (NMNZ P.38952). Photo: R. McPhee © NORFANZ. View larger image.
Head of the fish in the above image. Note the eye positioned close to the snout. Photo: R. McPhee © NORFANZ. View larger image.
The Gulper Eel has an elongate body with a luminous organ at the end of the tail. The eyes are tiny and close to the snout. There are several rows of small teeth in the massive jaws.
This species is black, sometimes with a white line or groove on either side of the dorsal fin.
The Gulper Eel grows to 80 cm in length.
Its major food items are crustaceans, but it also feeds on fishes, cephalopods and other invertebrates. It is believed to ingest its prey along with a quantity of water that is expelled through the gill openings.
At maturity males undergo changes that include an enlargement of the olfactory organs (glossary) and degeneration of the teeth and jaws. Females remain relatively unchanged.
The Gulper Eel occurs in midwaters of tropical and temperate seas worldwide. It has been recorded from depths of 500 m to 3000 m.
In Australian waters, this species is known from off north-western Western Australia, northern Queensland and New South Wales.
The Gulper Eel is the only species in the family Eurypharyngidae.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
Further reading
- Smith, D. G. 1999. Eurypharyngidae. in Carpenter, K.E. & V.H. Niem (Eds). FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. Volume 3. Batoid fishes, chimaeras and bony fishes part 1 (Elopidae to Linophrynidae). FAO, Rome. Pp. iii-vi, 1398-2068.
